Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: Bringing the Series to 2D

Having played games since the moment I had enough motor skills to hold a controller, I’ve grown used to seeing my franchises make the transition from 2D to 3D. Some did it with grace, such as Mario, Zelda, and Final Fantasy. Others...not so much (looking at you Sonic and Castlevania). However, it’s not every day that we see a series start in 3D, and suddenly make a move to 2D. But that’s exactly what Ubisoft has done with the Assassin’s Creed Chronicles trilogy.

The three games, which are set in China, India, and Russia respectively, take the core ideas that Ubisoft has been building upon since the original Assassin’s Creed back in 2007, and transition them from 3D to 2D. I’m happy to report that in the three hours I spent with China and India, this transition works well for the most part.

Exit Theatre Mode

The first thing you’ll notice when stepping foot into these new worlds is how unique and great they look. Each of the three chapters adheres to a different style -- China is filled with a painterly, muted series of brushstrokes, India is a bright and colorful depiction, while Russia has a distinctly-propaganda look and feel to it. Having spent most of my time with the China piece of the trilogy, the sparse use of color leads to some really evocative moments. Blood is heavily juxtaposed with the greys of the environment, and streaks of color draw your eye towards surfaces you can climb, much like how red was used in Mirror's Edge.

Aesthetics aside, I was really impressed by how fluidly all of the core tenants of the series made the move to 2D. Chronicles places a much-appreciated heavier emphasis on stealth -- if you get spotted by a handful of guards, you’re probably not going to make it out of there alive. You have relatively low health, and an enemy can cut you down pretty quickly. Thankfully, your greatest asset here is your ability to hide in the shadows, move from cover-point to cover-point, and navigate the environment in a quick and silent manner.

Exit Theatre Mode

The actual act of playing Chronicles feels a lot like playing Klei’s fantastic Mark of the Ninja. Climbing along the outside of a building, scurrying from shadow to shadow, and using your grappling hook to climb along the ceiling of a room all felt fantastic. Enemies' vision cones are represented in an easy-to-digest manner, which generally lets you know exactly how far away you can be without being spotted.

But while I really enjoyed my time in these large, open levels, I couldn't help but feel like too many of the encounters relied on trial and error in order to pass. It seemed like a lot of rooms had a single way of solving the puzzle, as opposed to the sandbox assassinations that peppered Unity and provided the best moments of that game. I found myself dying and having to reload from a checkpoint about a dozen times on certain encounters before I realized exactly what the game wanted me to do. Thankfully the load times were super quick, but I still found myself getting frustrated when I hit these walls.

Exit Theatre Mode

Aside from the frustrating moments, Chronicles’ natural ebb and flow unfolds nicely. After making it through a tense, enemy-filled level that required an impressive level of stealth, I entered a much faster-paced stage where I had to escape a burning dock as the flames constantly bit at my heels. The pace and energy of this stage was great, and it delivered a great sense of power as I used my forward momentum to slice down any and every enemy that stood in my way. Obviously the game wouldn’t work if every level were like this, but as the occasional palate cleanser, it was much appreciated.

While most of my time was spent with the China portion of the Chronicles trilogy, I got to play a bit of India. I really dug the different art style -- the wider color palette was a departure from China’s simple brushstrokes, but it was just as effective. The tone of this chapter was also different -- where my time with China was primarily based in what felt like reality, India had some mystical elements that included an ancient temple with some decidedly-futuristic laser technology. The differences between the two got me excited about how the tone will shift throughout the trilogy, but also got me really excited for what we’ll see in the Russia chapter.